


Better Together

by Randomfandombloggs09



Series: The Story of the Buckley-Diaz's [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 12:34:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21476095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Randomfandombloggs09/pseuds/Randomfandombloggs09
Summary: 5 times Eddie sees Buck wearing his last name and 1 time its not just his
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: The Story of the Buckley-Diaz's [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569085
Comments: 65
Kudos: 1550





	Better Together

**Author's Note:**

> Beyond excited to introduce you all to my first work ever. And of course its all in honor of my boys from 911. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who supported me over on tumblr first. All feedback is welcome! 
> 
> For those of you who didn't see the oroginal post, I suggest listening to Luke Combs new single "Better Together" as you read. 
> 
> Hope you Enjoy!!

**1**

To be fair Eddie had no idea that he would have the reaction he did upon seeing Buck wearing his clothes.

It started unexpectedly to say the least. They were out on a call, an apartment complex on fire, and Eddie and Buck had been instructed to clear the floors. It was only a small two level building and they were told that most of the tennants had gotten out long before the fire had even reached halfway through the first floor. Buck and Eddie were just finishing the last three rooms when he heard Buck's voice come crackling through the radio.

"Hey Eddie, I got a kid in the last room over here! You all good to clear the the building?"

Eddie gave the current apartment he was in one more sweep then pulled his radio up to respond to his partner. "All good Buck. Let's head out."

Eddie met up with Buck in the hallway and together they exited the building. Hen met them at the door to give the little girl a once over, deciding that other than some smoke inhalation she was okay. Buck and Eddie were tasked with sitting with her while Hen went to grab her parents from a nearby ambulance. They had only just reached the nearest firetruck to lean against before he heard the soft sound of Buck's voice, the kind he reserved specially for dealing with frightened children.

"Hey Sweetheart, are you cold?"

Eddie looked down to find the young girl trembling in Buck's arms as she gave a small nod. Eddie could hardly blame her, tonight had to be one of the coldest nights he's known L.A. to have and here these people were, standing outside in their pajamas. Eddie had even taken extra care to wear a few more layers underneath his turnout gear. Sure he may regret it while he's inside the heat of a burning building, but in times like now as they stand outside to wait on the back up transport as the last of the fire is put out, he can't seem to find a single regret.

He watches as Buck has the girl stand up on her own before he slides out of the jacket of his turnout gear, then lightly drapes it across her shoulders. She instantly offers a small smile in Buck's direction, pulling it tight around her and snuggling deeper into it. Buck smiles gently at her and pulls her back into his lap.

Its at that moment the girl's mother and father come running around the side of the fire truck and zero in on her. Buck allows her to jump up from his lap and meet them halfway as they drop down to pull her into a hug, muttering 'thank yous' to the two firefighters behind her. Afterwards the family stays nearby, sitting against the back of one of the other fire trucks.

Buck and Eddie stay where they are across from them, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the front of their own fire truck as Hen and Chim finish their last check overs on the other tenants and Bobby gets an updated ETA on when more transport is to arrive. Buck stays quiet all the while, swinging his feet with a small happy smile on his face as he watches the little girl and her family.

At least, that is, until Eddie feels him start to shiver from where they are pressed together. Its at that moment that Eddie realizes that Buck had not prepared as Eddie had for the cold weather. Instead all Buck currently has to shield himself against the bite of the wind is his LAFD t-shirt, having given his coat away to keep the little girl warm.

"_Dios Mio, Buck. _Not even a long sleeve shirt? You knew it was going to be cold today." Eddie says, shaking his head fondly at Buck. Buck looks over at Eddie sheepishly before offering a small shrug.

"I thought about it, but then I decided against it because its like walking into an oven when we are on a call for a fire. I guess I didn't think much about the after part of it."

"Of course you didn't." Eddie chuckles lightly before he leans up a little to shrug his own turnout coat off. Without a word Eddie hands it over to Buck who opens his mouth to protest before Eddie interrupts him. " Take it Buck, I have an undershirt, t-shirt, and my sweater on. Besides, Cap said tranports' ETA was about 5 minutes out like...4 minutes ago. I'll stay warm long enough. You, on the other hand, are going to turn into an ice cube."

Buck lets out a loud laugh before conceding, reaching out to take the coat from Eddie and snuggle down into it, much like the little girl did with Buck's own jacket, before letting out a grateful sigh. "Thank you Eddie."

" Yeah, of course." Eddie responds. A few seconds later they hear the distant sound of approaching sirens from the requested extra transport.

"Buckley! Diaz!" Both of their heads turn automatically and to follow the voice of their captain, preparing themselves to follow the orders he gives out. "Help Hen and Chim round up the tenants for transport. Make sure the most severe injuries go first."

"Got it Cap!" Buck responds, sending a small salute towards Bobby as he hops down from the truck. Eddie stays one step behind him as the seek out the other two members of the team. Chim automatically grabs Buck and pulls him away to the other side of the lawn to help the people there. Eddie watches them go for a second before turning back to Hen.

" Alright boss, whatchya got for me?" Hen doesn't waste time in pointing him in the right direction and Eddie gets to work. 

He doesnt think about his coat again again until after they have the last of the people loaded up. Eddie taps doors on the final ambulance as a signal that they can head out, more than glad that they have finally finished the job. It took longer to figure out where everyone was going and how to fit them all in the ambulances, even with the extras, than they thought it would and Eddie can feel the edges of the cold beginning to latch onto his bones with an icy grip. He rubs his arms as he walks around, eyes scanning the grassy front area and the fire trucks for any sign of his partner.

He finds him standing Chim near the firetruck. He has his head thrown back in laughter as they load the last of the gear back into the truck and he can see Chin wildly gesturing with his hands as he tells a story. Eddie can see a turnout coat clutched in one of Buck's hands, undoubtedly his own returned one that he hadn't bothered to switch back into instead of wearing Eddie's.

Eddie's body freezes mid stride. He looks Buck over again, still engaged in conversation though now he seems to be the one telling a story, and something warm settles heavily in Eddie's heart. It helps soften the icy edge of the cold. He'd try to deny it if anyone ever asked, but it certainly wasn't the fondness over his team that sent that feeling all the way to his toes.

No, instead it was from the way Buck smiled, the low rumble of his voice reaching Eddie though the words were incomprehensible from the distance he was parked at. It was the way Buck's own coat remained ignored and instead Eddie's was favored. The big yellow letters of "DIAZ" stretched across the back of the other man. It was the way Eddie's mind instantly whispered _you know, the name actually suits him _that sent Eddie stumbling to a halt, his heart stuttering before settling on a rapid pace.

He was only brought out of his stupor (more like starstruck staring) by his captain clamping a hand on his shoulder before asking him if he as ready to head back to the station. If it was accompanied by a knowing smile well....Eddie would deny that too.

\------------------------------

**2**

Eddie didn't think much about that night again for a while _(l__ies, he thought about it all the time). _It wasn't until Buck came running into the station late one day. Eddie watched as Buck cut directly into the locker room instead of heading upstairs as he usually does. Eddie decided to follow his angry rambling about L.A. traffic into the locker room.

"Rough morning Buck?" He questions, leaning against the lockers near Buck's own. He watches as Buck's body jerks violently to the sound of Eddie's voice, followed by the crash of what Eddie assumes was an elbow against a locker door. Buck groans, rattles around in the locker for few more seconds, then gorans again as he slams the door to the locker shut. Eddie takes that moment to look Buck over before letting out a laugh.

Buck looks generally put together depsite his first impression and the fact that he was late. That is, all except for the giant coffee stain that trails down the front of his shirt. Buck is doing the best he can to hold the material out and away from his skin. All Eddie can do is let out another laugh as he looks at Buck's pained expression, more from embarrasment than the heat of the spilled coffee.

"_Eddie." _Buck says his name in a long drawn out whine before dragging a free hand through his hair. " I thought I had enough time to stop for coffee this morning and I did but then some _idiot _decided to cut me off because fucking L.A. man, and I panicked, and then the next thing I know I have scalding hot coffee down the front of my shirt. So I pulled over to change my shirt because you know, _ow, _and I realized that apparently I forgot to pack an extra shirt today. And it was too late to go back to my apartment because I was already late and-"

Eddie places his hand on Buck's shoulder, interrupting his frantic explanation of his morning catastrophe. Eddie pulls in a breath to calm his breathing and laughter down before speaking. "Buck, _Buck_, it's okay I get it. You can borrow one of mine. Cap just made fresh coffee, its all good man."

Buck just sighs and nods his head, still looking like a child one second away from throwing a tantrum. Eddie leads Buck over to his locker and pulls a shirt out, tossing it over to Buck before letting him know that he'll be upstairs with a fresh cup of coffee waiting him.

Hen and Chim send Eddie questioning looks once he reaches the top of the stairs, having heard Buck's noisy arrival themselves, but he waves them away with a simple "Buck will tell you" before walking over to the coffee pot.

Just as Eddie sits down at the counter with two steaming cups of coffee at the ready Buck reaches the tops of the stairs himself. He mutters quiet ' Good Mornings' to the other two before walking over to Eddie and sitting on the stool next to him. Eddie instantly hands Buck's mug over to him and he takes it gratefully. Taking a huge sip depsite the heat and releasing an even bigger sigh of relief after.

"Sooooo....heard you had a rough morning, huh Buckaroo?" Chim says from behind Buck where him and Hen have taken a seat in preparation for breakfast. Bobby had stepped out to go greet Athena, who had decided to join the team for breakfast before her shift starts, just before Buck had arrived.

Buck's only response to Chim's question is the sound of his head hitting the counter top with a dull _thud _followed by a mix of a pained and embarrassed groan. Buck waves a hand in Eddie's direction before lifting his head just slightly to sip his coffee before dropping it back down.

Eddie rolls his eyes at the man but takes the hint and quickly relays the story to Chim and Hen. Eddie can see them trying to keep their laughter to minimum, Eddie can only hope they are doing it to spare his partner any more embarrassment. He should have known just how wrong he was.

"Okay, okay, so is that why Buck is wearing your shirt?" Hen asks, hiding a smile behind her hand. Eddie furrows his eyebrows at her. He didnt mention lending Buck his shirt, he didn't feel that it was a vital part to the story.

"Well, yeah. Its not like he could wear a stained shirt all day and all ours are identical so I gave him mine." Eddie says. He supposes she could have just assumed since Buck's current shirt was clearly coffee-less.

"That is, except for the fact that Buck's last name is now apparently Diaz." Chim chimes in from next to Hen. Eddie feels himself freeze and his eyes widen. He watches as Buck straightens up and starts pulling at the sides of the shirt to try to spin it enough to see the back. When that doesn't work Buck stands up and does his best to look over his own shoulder, but simply ends up spinning in a circle like a dog chasing its tail. Eddie manages to throw his arm out to catch Buck's arm to stop his spinning, Buck's back facing him. And there, is all capital letters, stretched across his back is the word "DIAZ". For a minute Eddie's world fuzzes out until all he can see is his last name plastered across the back of the man in front of him once again.

"Oh shit, forgot about those." He hears Buck say as Eddie's senses slowly return. Eddie's eyes snap up and away from the name (_his own name dammit, it shouldn't be that distracting) _as he tunes in to the conversation between his team members.

"How can you forget? You've been wanting the new shirts for forever." Chim mumbles, half distracted by his phone. No doubt texting Maddie. Eddie doesn't want to know what about. But damn if he doesn't want to smack himself. The new shirts, how could he forget. As the weather got warmer the team had begun to find every reason they could to avoid wearing long sleeves of any kind, especially their turnout gear. Bobby had decided that instead of forcing them to wear the layers of their official uniform that they would get a new order of LAFD t-shirts, now complete with last names across the back as a new uniform. They had only just gotten them yesterday and while Eddie had decided to keep his in his locker, he distinctly remembers Buck shoving his into his bag before leaving after yesterday's shift. The same bag in which he failed to pack an extra shirt in today, which is how they ended up here in the first place. Eddie is still in the middle of his mental shut down when he hears Bobby's voice.

"Buckley. Diaz. Glas to see you both have finally decided to join us for breakfast." Bobby says as he ascends the final steps to the loft. Athena is just a step behind him, already in uniform and ready to kick today's ass. Which is why it isn't all that surprising that her eyes instantly lock on to Buck's back, specifically the name written across it.

"Oh, sharing uniforms now, are we boys?" She says in place of a greeting. It ends up sending Chim and Hen into another round of laughter and also catches Bobby's attention at the same time. His eyes drift over from where he was scanning the table to see if he needed anything more before he called the remaining 118 to sit for breakfast, over to Buck. At some point Buck had taken his seat back next to Eddie to drink his coffee, the name in full view of anyone who comes up and into the loft, but at the sound of Athena's voice he had turned back towards the other members of their team. Eddie almost wanted to sigh in relief, especially when Cap catches his eye over Buck's shoulder.

Eddie can only imagine what Cap sees. He can feel the heat of a blush across his cheeks and crawling under the collar of his shirt, he knows his eyes hadn't become any less wide or pupils any less dilated, his palms are sweaty, and he suddenly feels like the Sahara desert has taken residence in his throat. He swallows thickly and Bobby just looks at him a second longer before shaking his head.

"Buck, you've had the new shirt for literally less than 24 hours. How have you already ruined your enough that you needed one of Eddie's?" Cap asks, and Eddie has never been more relieved. The attention finally taken away from his last name on Buck's back and returning to Buck's horrible morning. Eddie just prays it doesn't come full circle again. Eddie watches as Buck stands to move to the table, but Eddie stays seated a little longer to get a hold of himself.

In all honestly Eddie didn't know what the fuck just happened to him. Its like seeing his last name on Buck set him into a place exsiting between reality and his wildest unrealized dreams. He felt a deep longing he didnt even know he had and couldn't explain. He felt warmed from the inside out. He felt like everything was just as it should be. It felt like a thousand emotions were coursing through him, lighting his every nerve on fire. Even then, every single on of them could be reduced down to just one overwhelming and intoxicating word..._want. _

What he wanted exactly he still didn't know (he did, but no one can ever prove it), but it never got easier throughout the day. The first call they went on Eddie heard the small voice of one of the women they were helping mumble a small "Excuse me, firefighter Diaz?" and turned to respond, only to find her gaze locked onto Buck. Buck didnt even hesitate between one second and the next to respond to the girl himself. And Holy _shit _Eddie has never wanted anything more in his life than to continue seeing Buck respond to Eddie's last name like it was his own. After the call Bobby mentioned trying to find a LAFD shirt without _any_ last name on it to avoid confusion between them.

Buck never changed the shirt, and if he was being honest, he never even tried looking for another one. And if someone they were helping got a response from both of them after the the name 'Diaz' left their lips, then Eddie supposes two firefighters' help are better than one.

\--------------------------------

**3**

Eddie has never been more relieved that he had let Buck borrow his sweater.

The team was out for dinner together that evening. They had all just finished their shift, and it had been anything but an easy one. They couldn't have been at the station for more than 20 minutes at a time during the whole 24 hours and each call seemed to be worst than the last. They had lost a few people today and it was sitting heavily in all their hearts.

Throughout the day the team had been drawing strength and support from each other in order to finish the shift out. So much so that once they realized it was over and they could go home not a single one of them wanted to leave each other's presence. Everyone had changed out of their uniform slowly and lingered in the station until finally Chim had spoken up about being hungry. They all decided that dinner sounded like the best thing on planet Earth at the time.

Which leads to now, the five of them squished into the corner both of the local diner. The team was slowly sipping their drinks and eating off the multiple sampler platters they had ordered since none of them truthfully had that much of an appetite. Eddie finds himself sitting quietly as he listens to Hen and Chim recount one of the only good stories from the day, a call where only the paramedics were requested so others hadn't been present. For the first time that day Eddie feels calm and content, but he knows it won't be too much longer before they all have to go. They all have reached the bottom of their drink, symbolizing the end of their time at the diner like an hourglass that has reached the last few specs of sand. Despite having been with them for the past 26 hours, Eddie finds himself still not wanting to leave his team.

He must not be the only one because a few seconds after this realization he hears Buck clear his throat from next to Eddie to get everyone's attention. Buck had somehow won himself the seat closest to the aisle on one side while Bobby had claimed the other.

Eddie thinks Buck deserves it the most anyway. Today had been the hardest on Buck out of all them. He always seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Eddie had watched his shoulders become heavier and heavier with every call. About half way through the day, and still Eddie can't explain why exactly he did it, but after hearing Buck complain once that he was cold Eddie had handed over his sweater. Buck, for once, took it without even trying to decline it first. Eddie watched him slide it over his shoulders and burrow into it. Eddie had let him keep it all day and Buck had yet to take it off. Everytime Eddie looks over to find "DIAZ" still sitting snugly across Buck's shoulders Eddie likes to imagine that it's holding as much of the weight off of them as a last name can. Especially if the owner of said last name is actually there to take some of it away as well.

Buck had been more quiet than usual all day and that hadn't changed even here at the restaurant, even if most of the tension had finally leaked out of his shoulders. The team had missed the sound of Buck's teasing and loud laughter all day. Which is why each of them had instantly turned towards Buck at the smallest sound he made. Once Buck realized he had gained the attention of the team he simply pointed back over his shoulder towards the bar.

"One more round?" He asks, his tone laced with hope. There isn't a second of hesitation before everyone agrees, especially if their Buckaroo needed it. Just one more round, then they would all go home. But for now, they just needed each other. Buck nods once before standing up to begin the trek over to the bar.

Eddie allows ten minutes to go by after his departure before he starts to worry about Buck. What was taking him so long? Eddie tunes out of whatever conversation the table had currently been having and starts to scan the crowded area in front of the bar for his partner. He finds him eventually, but what he sees sends a flash of annoyance down his spine.

Buck is standing at the bar, surrounded by the team's successfully retrieved second round of drinks, but has obtained some extra cargo with them. The small brunette girl Eddie had seen working as the bartender when they first got here has her hand attached to Buck's arm as she leans across the counter into his personal space. And Buck? Buck just looks uncomfortable.

Eddie can see the rigid line of Buck's tense back, can see how he angles his body away a little more every time she leans in closer, can see the tight pinch of Buck's forced but kind smile, and most of all he can see the ancy way Buck shifts from foot to foot as if he'd rather be any where else. And he probably would.

"Woah Eddie, trying to break the bottle?" Hen's voice cuts through Eddie like a glass of ice water has been dumped on his head. His gaze snaps down to his hand, which had been holding his empty bottle loosely, and finds that he now has the bottle in a white knuckled grip. Instead of responding to Hen Eddie looks up at their captain. Bobby meet his gaze with an eyebrow raised in questioning.

"He's uncomfortable." Eddie says, tilting his head in the direction of Buck. Bobby follows the indication and looks over. The girl has now positioned her self in a way that pushes her chest out for display as she runs the hand thats not holding onto Buck down his other arm. Bobby and Eddie watch as Buck politely withdraws it away from her touch. Poor selfless idiot is probably too kind to tell the girl to leave him the fuck alone.

"Buckley!" The captains voice shocks both Eddie and Buck. Eddie watches as Buck jumps in surprise before turning towards the captain with wide eyes. Bobby sends a reassuring smile his way before yelling over to Buck again. "_Diaz _here would like his drink please!"

Eddie's eyes skip away from Buck, who has frantically started to gather the drinks up in his hands, and over to Bobby. "What, Cap those are for all of us not jus-"

Bobby holds his hand up in a gesture that silences Eddie immediately before pointing over to Buck and the girl again. "Look."

Eddie does. At first he isnt sure exactly what he is supposed to be seeing other than Buck and his clumsiness at finding a way to carry the five drinks in two hands, until he does see it. The girl has her eyes locked onto Buck's back as he finally gets a hold of the last glass. Eddie watches her gaze flick between the name across Buck's shoulders and himself a couple times before their two gazes finally lock. The girl shoots icy daggers at him and Eddie gets it.

While seeing his last name on Buck has brought nothing but warmth and happiness to Eddie's every day routine, it has the exact opposite affect on her. Its like Eddie has unintentionally laid a claim that whispers _this one is __mine. _It says _hands off. _It screams _taken._ And Eddie has never felt as much satisfaction in successfully pissing someone off before as he does now. That's right lady, not today. Not ever.

Eddie doesn't question how Bobby knew that would work. Doesn't ask why that was Bobby's first solution. And when Buck finally does reach the table again, saying thank you to the captain for saving him and remaining completely oblivious to just _how _he did it, Eddie doesn't question why he doesn't explain it to Buck either.

Just like how not single member of the team questions why Eddie stands and gestures for Buck to sit on the inside so Eddie can use his body to shield Buck from the lust filled stares of others that Eddie has suddenly become keenly aware of (or why Buck slides into it without hesitation like its exactly what Buck was hoping Eddie would do). And especially how no one questions when Eddie lightly places his hand on Buck's lower back as they finally make their way out of the restaurant, making sure that the bartender with no boundaries and every other person that dares to look sees that the Diaz names lies across the shoulders of both men as one final _back off _is silently sent their way.

\--------------------------------------

**4**

Of all the times Eddie has seen Buck wearing his last name, it's never been quite like this.

A few days ago Buck has stumbled across Eddie sitting in the station's kitchen with frustration lacing his every feature. When Buck had sat next to Eddie to figure out what was wrong he learned that Christopher had a parent-teacher conference on Thursday that started half an hour after Eddie got off his shift. Buck didn't even hesitate before offering to take Christopher himself until Eddie could get there since Buck had the day off. Eddie had accepted only after thanking Buck about a few hundred times.

Which leads to the situation Eddie finds himself in currently. He had finished his shift and changed his clothes in what had to be record time. He tosses a half hearted 'see ya tomorrow!' over his shoulder to Hen and Chim as he hops into his truck and ends up breaking more than a few speeding laws to reach the school. He somehow manages to find a spot right next to Buck's jeep and barely has his truck in park before he's jumping out and jogging into the school.

He can see the teacher at the check-in table regarding him an amused smile. He slows down as he reaches her, running a hand through his hair and straightening his shirt. She waits patiently as Eddie gathers himself then picks up her pen and paper to scan over the names of the children.

"Hello sir, who can we check you in for?" She says kindly, looking him over with gentle eyes. Eddie finally recognizes her as the elderly woman who reads and does crafts with the kids that Christopher has become overly fond of.

"Oh, my son is already here somewhere actually. Christopher Diaz? Have you seen him around here?" He watches as a look of recognition settles over her face, followed by a fond smile that everyone tends to gain upon knowing his son.

"Oh yes, of course! I don't say this often but that boy of yours is one of my favorite kids to work with." She says as she grabs what Eddie assumes is one of the stickers that he's seen a few of the parents wearing as identification. He realizes he's correct in the assumption as she begins to write 'Diaz' out in big black letters as she keep talking. "Christopher should be just inside the cafeteria with your husband. They both were more than excited to hear that there was free pizza being offered."

Eddie takes the sticker he's handed, placing it on his own chest. "They do love their pizza." He says fondly before bidding her a goodbye and turning to walk to the cafeteria. He only takes a matter of four steps before they begin to falter as he fully processes what she said to him. _Your husband. _Husband? Buck and him aren't even dating let alone married ( although Eddie has known and accepted for a while now that he wants nothing more than for them to finally take that step over the line of 'best friends').

Eddie gets lost in his head as he makes the short trek to the cafeteria, wondering how many teachers here think that him and Buck are together. He can only imagine. Buck picks up and drops Christopher off at school as much as he does. Eddie has found that Buck has also become as much as a permanent feature in Chris' drawings for school as surfboards and Eddie himself is. Just last week Christopher told him how he had swiped a picture of Buck from Buck's own apartment to glue to an 'all about you' poster project for school for the family section. (Buck hadn't been anything but flattered when Christopher told him. Even offered to print off a picture of all three of them for Chris if he wanted it. He did. Christopher said it was too important for a silly poster, it now sits proudly in a frame on his night stand.)

Eddie isnt broken out of his reverie until he reaches the cafeteria and ends up running directly into Christopher's teacher. Eddie's hands fly out to steady them both and he starts spluttering his way through an apology instantly. Christopher's teacher laughs and waves a hand in dismissal.

"Oh, you're perfectly fine Eddie. I'm sure you were just in a rush to get over to your boys." She says. Which doesnt help Eddie's current mental state at all. And just to top it off, as she points out Chris and Buck to Eddie, she adds a simple, "By the way, it's wonderful to finally meet the other Mr. Diaz. He's such a sweetheart", before patting his arm lightly and stepping away to walk back towards her classroom.

Eddie feet stay firmly rooted to the spot, mouth opening and closing a few times before he just throws his head back and stares at the ceiling, silently praying for the strength he didn't know he was going to need to get through the day. He gives himself a few more seconds before finally turning and making his way over to where the teacher had indicated Buck and Chris were.

He finds them sitting across from each other, each with a pizza in hand as they both lean slightly across the table to talk to each other over the noise of the crowded cafeteria. He watches as Buck says something that sends Christopher into a fit of giggles as he shakes his head at Buck. Buck gives Chris an affronted look and places a hand over his heart in mock hurt. Eddie choses then to walk over.

"Daddy!" Chris yells out once he sees Eddie approaching. He holds out his arms and Eddie drops down next to him and pulls his son into his chest. He squeezes him tightly before letting go so Chris can return to his food. He hears the distinct sound of a paper plate sliding across a table and looks over to find said plate with two pieces of pizza and a breadstick stacked on it now in front of him. He lets his eyes drift farther up and over to Buck who smiles brightly at him. Eddie mouths a _thank you _to him and picks up as piece as he turns to listen to Chris who speaks up from next to him again. "Daddy, Bucky said that he could fit a whole piece of pizza in his mouth. I told him there was no way. Do you think he could?"

Eddie's eyebrows raise in amusement and he looks over at Buck who wiggles his eyebrows at Eddie in response. Eddie narrows his eyes at Buck. "I don't know buddy, looks like Buck will just have to prove it won't he?" Eddie says, a hint of challenge in his tone. 

"Ooooohhh game on Diaz." Buck says, before picking up his remaining piece of pizza. Eddie can hear Christopher giggling next to him and they both watch as Buck carefully folds the pizza before opening his mouth and promptly shoving the whole thing in. Christopher and Buck cheer in triumph and Eddie...he's not going to acknowledge exactly what that action caused him to feel like. Instead he just swallows thickly and nods his head in what he hopes in a congratulatory way.

"Okay okay, you win." Eddie mutters. He watches as Buck attempts to smile at him with a mouthful of pizza before he gives up and starts speed chewing in hopes of finishing it off quickly. Eddie goes back to eating his pizza quietly as Chris starts talking to Buck again. He also takes the time to look both of them over, and ends up about choking on his bite of pizza as he sees Buck's own identifying sticker attached to his chest. The same four letters that grace Eddie's and, as he had seen, Christopher's. Jesus this day is going to send him into an early grave.

Buck sends him a concerned look as Eddie coughs and hits his chest to break up that last of the pizza that had settled weird in his throat. Eddie sends him a thumbs up and picks up the water next to him (which is definitely Buck's) and takes a few big gulps. Buck, surprising, lets it go once he sees that Eddie is okay. Eddie goes back to his pizza, eating as fast as he can just in case any other surprises rear their head.

Once they have all successfully eaten Eddie ushers them both up so they can head over to see Christopher's teacher. She greets them with an excited "Ah, the Diaz family! I've been wondering when you were going to finally escape the pizza."

Yup, Eddie definitely isn't going to survive the day.

\--------------------------------

**5**

"Buckley! Diaz! What exactly do you two think you are doing?" Cap's voice rings out across the room causing the two men to freeze, hands midway to the bowl of chips settled between them.

"Uh...eating chips?" Buck says, more of a question than a statement. Bobby shakes his head before walking over and picking up the bowl. Eddie and Buck both let out small whines as they reach up to grab the bowl back but stop at the look Bobby sends their way.

"Athena had these over on the table for everyone, not just for you two. Please keep them there." He says with a pointed look. Eddie doesn't think it was a request, even with the please tacked on. He watches as Buck groans and drops his head back against the couch.

The team was all currently huddled in the living room of the Diaz household. They had been wanting to do a movie night for a long time, and after months of planning the night had finally arrived. Originally everyone wanted to do it over at Bobby and Athena's, their backyard was perfect for a projected movie night. But tonight ended up being too cold for that, especially with all the kids. So in the end they had settled on Eddie's house, who actually had the biggest living room out of them all.

Eddie had a lot of living room furniture himself but the team still had to bring some bean bag chairs and other things to sit on themselves in order to fit everyone. Buck had stolen Eddie's house keys once his shift finished, almost 6 hours before Eddie, and opened up the Diaz house for Athena, Maddie, Karen, and all the kids to start preparing. Buck had even relieved Carla for the day (who had politely declined the invite to movie night to go home to her own husband) and picked up Chris from school, who was more than excited to arrive home to his house full of other kids to play with.

By the time Eddie had finally gotten home with Bobby, Chim, and Hen in tow the smell of food reached all the way to the driveway and the sound of laughter and conversation could be heard from even farther. It made Eddie stop and smile, his house emitting the feeling of home and family so strongly that it wrapped around Eddie like a blanket.

Once the new arrivals finally made their way into the house Athena had quickly handed out the task of setting up the living room to accomdate them all over to Buck and Eddie. They took the time to push all the furnature to the very edge, and also lined the empty spaces between them with the extra furniture brought by the team. Eddie had ran over and taken out every blanket he had from his storage closet, grabbed the extra ones the team brought, and even grabbed the ones off the beds from their own rooms. They laid a blanket across each spot before setting to work and making a huge bed on the floor of the living room for all the children.

They had just barely finished it before the thundering sound feet could be heard, followed by the children themselves. They all stopped in the entrance to the living room and looked around before shouting excitedly and running over to the makeshift bed to claim their spots. Even May had that childish giddiness to her as she fought over the middle spot with Denny until they both agreed to hand it over to Chris, who plopped down with a happy giggle.

Buck had originally snuck out when the kids first arrived to their masterpiece, but he returned quickly in newly acquired sweatpants and a bowl of chips. And that's how Bobby had found them, with Buck and Eddie sitting on the couch keeping and eye on the children as they browsed through the movies, each with a hand on their way to the chip bowl.

Once Bobby had successfully stolen the chips back to the kitchen Eddie returned his focus to Buck. Buck's eyes were firmly locked onto the screen, head nodding in silent agreement or shaking his head in a desperate no as the kids fought their way through the movies provided by Netflix. Buck must have felt Eddie's gaze because he turned towards him and locked eyes with Eddie. Buck sent him a small but happy smile that quickly turned mischievous before he quickly turned his body and threw his legs up and onto Eddie's lap.

Eddie knows he could shove them off with a joke, tell Buck to respect his 'personal space' (as if they have ever done that) or something along those lines. But Eddie can't find it in him. He's comfortable, content, and most of all he's happy. Eddie had the sneaking suspicion that while the 118 family had a lot to do with it, there was a large part that was mainly due to the man sitting next to him. It always is. So Eddie just brings his arms down to rest across Buck's legs and allows himself to sink back against the couch and into a comfortable position.

Once Eddie gets situated he looks over at Buck to see him staring at Eddie with wide eyes. He had probably expected Eddie to shove him off his lap. Buck blinks a couple times before melting right in front of Eddie's eyes. Buck huddles farther down into the couch, stretches farther across Eddie's lap, and then grabs the blanket they had put on the couch and starts messing with it.

Eddie let's his gaze drift down to his hands where they rest lightly on Buck's legs. He's not sure exactly why he did, but he instantly takes note of the sweatpants that Buck had adorned. Originally Eddie had assumed they were a pair Buck had packed to change into, it'd hardly be the first time. But upon closer inspection Eddie recognizes the soft gray material, the stain on the bottom from spilt spaghetti sauce, and of course, the last name that is printed down the side. They're Eddie's LAFD sweatpants, the new ones that Hen had been begging Cap to get for a long time.

Eddie's hand mindlessly drifts to the name and he lightly traces the letters. He doesn't even register the fact that Buck has frozen on the spot, eyes locked on Eddie's hand as it moves. It's not until Eddie looks up at him with such a soft look in his eyes that Buck lets the tension bleed from his shoulders. Eddie finally decides to voice the one thought that has been on his mind for the past few months.

"You look good in the Diaz last name." Eddie whispers. It's almost to quiet to hear, but Buck hears him. He always does. Eddie avoids eye contact and starts silently panicking when Buck doesn't say anything in response for a minute or two. Until eventually, Eddie feels Buck's hand slide over and cover Eddie's own that still rests lightly against Buck's thigh.

" I've always thought that our last names sounded better together." Buck whispers back, and just like that, Eddie knows he's done for. Eddie lets out a surprised laugh.

"Like how Cap says them all the time?" He asks, a watery and relieved hint to his tone.

"Just like that." Buck responds, grabbing Eddie's hand and lacing their fingers together. 

That's when Eddie knows, without a doubt, that he loves Buck. Wants nothing more than to see Buck wearing his clothes with his last name stretched across the back until the day he dies ( to be honest though, Buck might have been on to something when he mentioned their two names together. That sends a whole new tirade of emotions flowing through Eddie's veins). Eddie wants to walk around the station and know that the same name resides across both of their shoulders, and not just because of a coffee accident. He wants to be able to walk up to people who get a little too handsy and actually say the words _back off, he's mine_. He wants the school's belief that Buck is Eddie's husband (and Christopher's other father) to be the truth instead of speculation. He just..... wants Buck. In every way possible.

Eddie can hardly believe that he realizes this in such a small and simple point in time. He had expected something dramatic. Maybe after a close call that left Eddie breathless, or a time when someone left Eddie shaking in his boots with jealousy. He even imagined a moment when Buck was being his usual hot-headed self and Eddie finally broke down and said "Fuck it" before pushing him up against the nearest wall. Eddie had imagined so many other things. But not this. Not a moment when he can still hear the kids in front of them, finally reduced to a discussion between two movies instead of the whole of Netflix. Where he can hear their friends tinkering around in the kitchen and the laughter that streams out through the open archway. And yet here Eddie is locked in a moment, a single breath in time, where its just him and Buck. And everything is just _simple,_ _calm, _and _right. _

Part of Eddie knows he should be scared of such a huge breakthrough, but Buck is looking him directly in his eyes. And all Eddie can see is every dream, want, and hopes he's ever had for them reflected directly back. He's not scared, not at all.

When Bobby walks in a few minutes later holding two heaping plates of food he finds the kids all sitting on the floor of the living room on a ginormous bed made of blankets, each one's eyes locked onto some Marvel movie they had picked out. He slowly counts off the kids in his head, making sure they are all actually nestled into the mound of blankets before turning his head in search of the two older men who had been tasked with caring for them. He finds them on the same couch he had left them on earlier. Except now, instead of sitting on opposite sides Buck is leaning back against Eddie's chest. Eddie has one arm around Buck while the other one rests across the arm of the couch. Both of their legs are stretched towards the end that Buck had vacated in favor of Eddie's side. They are leaned towards each other, smiling and whispering about something that Bobby doesn't care to know about.

Eddie looks up and over at Bobby when he hears a set of footsteps come to a hault next to them. Buck had made himself comfortable against Eddie's chest and Eddie hadn't even tried to stop him. It was glaringly obvious to anybody that looked their way that something had changed between them, and that something was nothing but _good._ Eddie doesn't know what exactly he was expecting from Bobby, or the team for that matter. Maybe a bunch of _what the hells, _or maybe a bunch of questions regarding _when, where, and how? _

Truthfully Eddie just expected more than Bobby simply handing them both a full plate of food and telling them to be careful not to spill before turning to walk back to the kitchen. Buck doesn't seem to care, he just instantly digs into his plate.

Eddie watches as a few seconds later all the adults start filtering in to the living room from the kitchen. Each carrying a plate of food, some of them carrying two to hand down to one of the children until each of the kids has a plate themselves. Eddie watches as each of their eyes flick over to Buck and Eddie and waits for them to say something. No one does, which leaves Eddie wondering how obvious they had been to every one except each other apparently.

At least, that is, no one spoke until Chim and Hen came through the archway, the final two to join their family in the living room, and simultenously yelled out "_fucking finally!". _No one bothered to correct their language, instead just laughed and nodded in response to their outburst. Christopher, from his spot on the floor, was the most enthusiastic about his agreeance.

\-------------------------------

**+1**

Eddie couldn't stop the goofy smile that spread across his face as he did the last of the buttons up on his uniform. His eye was caught on the golden band that now adorned his left ring finger as it reflected in the light of the firehouse. He can hear the sound his husband's voice drifting down through the open door of the locker room and the responding voices of the other 118 members. Eddie had gotten in a a bit later than Buck, having been caught in traffic after dropping Chris off at school. Buck had offered to drive separately to work today so he can pick up coffee for them from their favorite coffee shop. Eddie hopes he was successful in getting them to the fire station intact this time.

Eddie finishes getting dressed quicker after remembering the coffee that awaits him upstairs. This is his and Buck's first day back after their honeymoon. They had only taken the week off and even though it was supposed to be just them, they couldnt bring themselves to leave Christopher behind. So it had been less of a honeymoon and more of a family vacation if Eddie really thought about it. He's not complaining though, he has never been happier in his entire life.

Eddie takes the steps two at a time and reaches the top of the stairs just in time to be greeted by Hen and Chim's relentless teasing. Eddie just rolls his eyes at them fondly before walking over to his husband, who sits patiently on the bar stool at the counter with two steaming cups of coffee in front of him.

"Hey Eds." Buck says softly. Eddie doesn't say anything in response, choosing instead to lean over and press a lingering kiss to Buck's lips before pulling away to plop down on the stool next to him. Buck smiles at him brightly and scoots Eddie's coffee towards him, his own ring shining brightly against the dull color of the paper cup. They both ignore Hen and Chim's fake gagging noises from behind them. Both of them were part of the wedding party and stood proudly next to Buck and Eddie at their wedding, so everyone knows that they are nothing but fond of their relationship. It still doesn't seem to stop them from their normal antics. Bobby comes up the last of the stairs a few moments later and walks directly over to Buck and Eddie.

"Buckley-Diaz huh?" He says as he hands over two new, freshly made badges. Buck and Eddie were hounded throughout the whole engagement about whose last name they were taking. Everyone thought they were joking when they said both. Buck nods at Bobby excitedly as he takes his new badge and pins it to his uniform as Eddie does the same. Eddie can't help the smile from returning to his face as he finally sees his last name, tied with Buck's, become an official part of both their uniforms.

"It always rolled off the tongue nicely when you said it Cap." Buck finally answers Bobby. Bobby simply smiles at the two men and nods.

"And what did Christopher think of the new last name? Or did you not change his as well?" Chim asks from behind Bobby. He had stood up from the table with Hen and walked over to see the new badges himself.

"I gave Christopher the option of keeping it just Diaz, but he basically told me I was stupid if I thought he didnt want to have the same last name as both his fathers. It was actually Christopher's teachers who were the most surprised at the name change. But that's only because they thought we were already married." Eddie answers Chim's question. Buck lets out a loud laugh from next to them.

"Yeah I guess we never did correct them at either of those conferences I went to. I didn't see the point." Buck says sheepishly with a shrug before continuing. "Besides, our names just sound better together. Wait! Cap! Does this mean we get new shirts and sweatpants too!"

Eddie watches as his over excited husband runs after Bobby, who had groaned and walked into the kitchen as soon as the the question had left Buck's lips. Eddie watches him go before going to sit with Chim and Hen who have returned to their seats at the table.

Eddie can hear the excited chatter of Buck's voice as he asks Bobby when they could get their new gear complete with their new last name (even asks about getting Chris a sweater of his own), he can also hear the fond but exasperated tone that Bobby has as he responds to the man he has always seen as a son (Bobby had been the one to give Buck away at their wedding), and in front of him Eddie can see his two best friends laughing and talking their way through a story about their family (Chim and Maddie finally got engaged a month ago, the wedding is at the end of the year), and Eddie can't stop himself from tearing up out of pure happiness.

_Yeah, _Eddie thinks to himself. _We __are just better together. _


End file.
